Chemical composition of a volatile fraction from the leaves of Clerodendrum infortunatum L.

The volatile composition of plants is of great importance because of its wide applications in aromatherapy, pharmaceuticals, perfumes and chemical ecology. This article describes the volatile fraction of Clerodendrum infortunatum L. leaves extracted by partitioning the hydro-distillate using hexane. A fatty acid derivative, 1-octen-3-ol is found as the main component in the volatile fraction ranging from 48.7 to 63.7%. Other compounds found with significant amounts were trans-3-hexenol, 1-hexanol, (3E)-hexen-1-ol acetate, 3-octanone, phenylacetaldehyde, linalool and methyl salicylate. Irregular terpenoid compounds like (E)-β-damascenone, (E)-β-ionone and isophorone are also present in the volatile part of C. infortunatum. The chemical composition of the volatile fraction was identified by spectroscopic analysis, GC and GC-MS.